


Constants

by TheRoyalMisfitMess



Category: Barbie - All Media Types, Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures (Cartoon 2018), Barbie Vlogs (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28917204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRoyalMisfitMess/pseuds/TheRoyalMisfitMess
Summary: Okay so I am OBSESSED with Barbie Vlogverse/Dreamhouse Adventures world, and I am utterly disappointed with the lack of Karbie fanfics out there. The vlogs and series show this painfully enjoyable slow burn between Ken and Barbie, and I am an absolute sucker for it! The childhood-friends-and-kinda-sweethearts story? The shared fencegate that gives the Roberts and Carsons direct entry to each other’s backyards? The secret night meet-ups at the tress? The Ken practically being a part of the Roberts family? AMAZING. I am so far enjoying how this iconic legacy couple is gonna get together in this version. But anyways, here’s a canon compliant fanfic that happened after Dance Dilemmas.
Relationships: Barbie Roberts & Skipper Roberts, Karbie, Ken Carson/Barbie Roberts
Comments: 9
Kudos: 4





	Constants

It was nearing ten o’clock. While the school gym still contained a good number of students, the life of the party was dying down. Nikki, Reneé, and Teresa had already left, and because Skipper had DJ duties, she needed to stay, so she promised Barbie that she’d catch a ride with Daisy home. This left Barbie and Ken alone together. They both agreed to stay a bit to dance and socialize some more, but Ken took notice of how drained Barbie looked.

“Hey, you wanna head home?” Ken asked.

Barbie glanced at some of her schoolmates leaving the gym and nodded. “Sure,” the two old friends walked out of the gym alongside others, “the party’s dying down anyway."

“But you know what?” Ken gave a bashful grin at Barbie. “I’m kinda hungry right now.”

Barbie returned the grin at Ken, “Me too! Almost midnight snacks at my place first then. Is that okay?” she suggested.

“Perfect!”

Since Barbie and Ken both drove to the dance in their own cars, they had to leave Golden Beach High on a convoy. Once they finally arrived at their block, they diverged to park their cars at their respective houses. Barbie parked quite hurriedly, as Ken saw her rush to get into the dreamhouse. When Ken got his car settled in his garage, he fixed up a few stuff, locked his car, and finally walked over to the Roberts to ring their bell. Barbie, now wearing an apron over her dress let him in.

“Funny how you rang the front door to enter when we have a shared backyard fence gate that gives us access to each other’s houses,” Barbie told Ken when they made their way through the kitchen.

“Yeah, but with the dreamhouse’s topnotch security system, do you actually think I can just freely enter?” Ken bantered, simultaneously helping Barbie out by preparing glasses for their drinks.

“You can call me if you can't get it!” Barbie said with a laugh. “Besides, if my memory serves me right, you entered the house just fine when I tried to spy on Skipper that one night.”

Ken chuckled. “I still kinda haven’t gotten around to familiarizing the dreamhouse’s features, to be honest.”

The 3D food printer dinged. Barbie wore her oven mitts and took the tray out. “Yeah right. You only enter via the fence gate for the following reasons: emergencies and secret meetings.” she said.

Ken groaned. “Alright, alright! But in my defense, I was already at the front yard, so it would've been less complicated for me to walk to your front door. Anyway, let’s just eat what you’ve prepared for us—which, by the way, smells very delicious. What are they?”

“These are puff pastry cups!” Barbie said with a theatrical wave of hands. “Half is artichoke, spinach, and cream cheese, while the remaining half is quiche.”

“And how exactly did you prepare these in a short amount of time?” Ken asked.

“There were leftovers from yesterday,” Barbie explained nonchalantly. “Could've baked something new, but you're probably hungry as a wild bear."

“Right you are, my best friend!” Ken agreed. He took a bite of the puff pastry cup and looked straight into Barbie’s eyes seriously. “Barbara.”

Barbie smiled, not only because she knew her best friend enjoyed the pastry, but because she always felt a certain fondness whenever Ken used her whole first name on her. “Yes?”

“This. Is. Amazing.”

“Why thank you, Kenneth.”

Ken continued to devour his snack, and while Barbie did the same, she couldn’t help but stare at her best friend—looking extremely adorable as he ate his puff pastry cup in glee. She felt lighter now that she and Ken made up. “Hey, Ken?” she spoke, “I’m sorry your night didn’t go as plan.”

Halting his eating, Ken stared at Barbie. “Babs, we’ve been over this! It’s not your fault.” he assured his best friend with a warm smile.

“I know, I know...” Barbie tells him off. “I just... I kinda still feel the guilt, you know? I shouldn’t be overthinking this and everything, but you know it’s all just–“

“Hey,” Ken squeezed Barbie’s hand, making Barbie glance at their hands and look directly into Ken’s eyes, “don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Barbie squeezed Ken’s hand back. “Thanks,” she said shyly.

“Besides, I could always ask her out another time.” Ken said confidently, taking another piece of puff pastry cup from the tray.

A feeling of heaviness overtook Barbie, so she quickly took her hand out of Kens and continued to eat. “Yeah,” she said, sounding quite disappointed. “Yeah, you could always do that.”

A deafening silence filled the room for about a few minutes till Barbie finally had the nerve to ask the question she’s been wanting to ask him for a long time, “What led you to want to ask Harriet out, if I may ask?”

“Well we did this one Science project together once–“

“Oh right!” Barbie said. “The one where we were pre-paired because our teacher wanted a change.”

“Exactly!” Ken said with excitement. “Otherwise, I’d obviously wanna be paired with you.”

Barbie smiled as Ken continued, “But yeah... We just got talking, and suddenly I was feeling this insane attraction towards her!”

The smile on Barbie’s face falters while Ken went on about his attraction towards Harriet, but even she, herself, does not take notice of her own reaction until Ken pointed it out. “Hey, you okay?” he asked, concern evident from his voice. “You’ve been out of it since we got home.”

“What?” Barbie escaped deep thought. “Just feeling a little tired, that’s all...”

“Oh...” Ken uttered with a tone of sheer disappointment. “Should I go or–“

“I said I was tired," Barbie mustered the best smile she can, "I didn’t say I hated your company.”

The two old friends erupted laughter. “Alright. But you need the rest, so I’ll go after I help you wash up the plates.” Ken promised.

“Alright."

Once Ken and Barbie finished eating, they immediately began cleaning up. “Hey, since it’s Saturday tomorrow... Do you wanna have a movie night?” Ken suggested while he loaded the dishwasher.

“I’d love that.” Barbie agreed, looking at the counter table while wiping to hide her blush from Ken. “So, be here at eight? I think we’d be finished with our homework by then.”

“Bold of you to assume I won’t be here the whole day.” Ken quipped, earning chuckles from Barbie.

“Alright, Carson! You have a point there," Barbie put away the cloth she used to wipe the table, "let’s just start whenever we’re ready.”

“Awesome!” Ken closed the dishwasher, “By the way,–“ The doorbell then rang.

“Ooo! Someone is at the door,” Barbie said, making her way to the entryway, Ken tailing her. “It’s probably Skip.”

Skipper was seen standing in front of the door when Barbie opened it—still quite ecstatic despite the late hour. “Hey!” she greeted her sister.

“Hey Skip!” said Barbie.

“Hey Skipper!” followed Ken. "How was the dance?"

“Oh hey, Ken! I didn’t see you there.” Skipper said. “The dance was great! I am tired, but I also feel great– Did you guys have an afterparty or something?”

“Nope! Ken and I got hungry, so we decided to eat first before hitting the hay.” Barbie clarified.

“I see...” Skipper gave Barbie a sly eye, to which Barbie shot back with a roll of eyes. She headed straight to the kitchen, Ken and Barbie tailing along. “So what did you guys have?”

“The puff pastry cups!” Ken replied before Barbie could even speak.

“Oh yes!” Skipper raved while scavenging the fridge. “Those are really good, but I think you guys finished them already, so I’ll just have some leftover pizza.”

Skipper took two slices of pizza to a plate to which she heated in the toaster oven. After a short chat about her experience collaborating with Daisy for the school dance as DJs, Ken and Barbie left her to take care of the heating process in the kitchen and moved on to the door leading to the backyard porch. It was getting late, and Ken thought it was best he went home.

“Well Barbara,” Ken held the doorknob, “I should be heading off.”

“Of course!” Barbie agreed.

"Let me get that for you." Ken let go off the door knob to let Barbie open the door.

Once they got to the backyard porch, they locked eyes. “And umm...” Ken looked deeper into Barbie’s eyes, but this only led him to more questioning on what he wanted to say to Barbie. There were a million thoughts in his head, but he merely sighed and said, "Thanks for tonight."

Barbie beamed. She was about to say something, but Ken continued to speak. “I might have not been able to go to the dance with the girl I have a crush on, but I was able to go to spend time with my best friend.”

“Sometimes second choices aren’t so bad, huh Carson?” Barbie teased.

“You’re hardly a second choice, just so you know.” Ken cleared up, leaving Barbie wide-eyed, out-of-words, stunned, and confused. “I meant what I said a while ago... You’re my best friend, but you’re also more than that. So, getting to spending time at the dance with you? I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

A thousand responses were swirling around Barbie’s head, but nothing really came out of her. “Thanks," she said. "That really means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome.” Ken replied, now standing one step down the porch. “See you tomorrow…” He turned around and walked straight to the fence gate that connected his house with the dreamhouse.

Barbie wanted to badly say something to him before the night ended, and although she didn’t actually want to do it, it all just happened. “Ken!” she shouted.

Stopping dead at his tracks, Ken turned around and walked back to the porch. Barbie moved closer to her best friend. “I–” Barbie didn’t know what to say, but she tried her best to gather her thoughts. “I just wanna–“

“Yeah?”

“If—” Barbie breathed in to catch her breath and collect her dispersed thoughts, “The next time you like a girl, and you try to ask them out, and they reject you… Just know that they’re missing out.”

Standing speechless, Ken does not reply. Barbie continued on, “I also meant what I told you earlier... Girls who don’t like dorks are missing out. I mean… You’re smart, funny, handsome, and you’re a great friend. Any girl would be lucky to have you. If Harriet can't forgive you and see that, then she's making a huge mistake."

Ken smiled. “You really think so?”

Barbie smiled back. “I know so.”

“Well, I feel the same way about you too.” Ken told Barbie, once again, making her lightly blush and grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

It was as if something hit Barbie because her heart fluttered. “Thanks,” she said. “Just know that I’m always here for you.”

"Same here." Ken pulled Barbie into a hug. "Good night, Barbie.” Barbie began breaking apart from Ken, although they kept an eye contact as their arms slide pass each other.

"Good night, Ken.” Barbie whispered back.

When Barbie and Ken completely broke apart, Ken turned around to walk back home. Barbie watched him until he was completely out of sight. Upon her return to the inside of the dreamhouse, she was greeted by Skipper with a sly smile—similar to the one she just gave Barbie the moment she got home from the dance. It was only then she realized that Skipper must have watched the interaction between her and Ken all because she forgot to close the door to the backyard.

“What was that?” Skipper asked with a look on her face.

“What was what?” Barbie retorted, obviously attempting to deviate away from the topic.

Skipper groaned. “That thing with Ken!”

“What thing with Ken?” Barbie, once again, answered through a question.

“You _know_ what I mean.” Skipper said, exasperated.

Barbie did not reply. Instead, she walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, hoping for Skipper to not pester her any longer. However, this did not stop Skipper. As a matter of fact, it made her more determined. She could go on for hours asking Barbie about this. “Barbie, do you like Ken?”

And there it was. Barbie settled her glass down on the table and faced Skipper. “Of course I like Ken. He’s my best friend.”

“You know I don’t mean that kind of like,” Skipper put her hand on her hip. “You can’t keep pretending like there’s nothing there. The whole world saw that vlog last year, after all.”

“I told you Skip,” Barbie rubs her arm, “it’s complicated.”

“Does it have to be?” Skipper asked. “I mean… Look, I’m not one to give advice, that’s already your job… And I have never even been in a relationship before, but… You and Ken have been best friends for forever! Ever since we moved here in Malibu, you guys have been inseparable. If you asked me, no one would actually be surprised if you two started—“

“NO.” Barbie cut in firmly, surprising Skipper. “It’s not like that... We’re just friends... Best friends! But also more than friends! We’re—“

“You’re dating without the labels.”

Barbie was stunned at her sister’s comment. She thought about it for a second, and it hit her how accurate Skipper’s entire comment was. Every single time they would do something for each other, support each other, and hang out together, it was always something the two could never describe. That is, until now.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped. It’s just– You guys can’t even–“ Skipper then glances on gold decorated around Barbie’s left wrist and thinks to herself.

“What?” Barbie asked, not knowing what Skipper had in mind.

“That.” Skipper pointed out Barbie’s bracelet.

Barbie raised her left arm and put it closer to her face. She stares at the piece of gold decorated around her wrist. "What about it?"

“What’s that?”

“A bracelet?” she answered, not knowing where this conversation was going.

"Of course it's a bracelet!" Skipper crossed her arms and then asked, “But who gave it to you again?”

“Ken did.” Barbie answered slowly, turning to Skipper after—giving Barbie _that_ look.

“What exactly happened after that vlog?”

“I’ll tell you... When I’m ready.”

“Come on!”

“When I’m ready... I promise.”

“Alright,” Skipper sighed. “But if you do like Ken, I think you gotta tell him.”

Barbie sighed, “Even if I do like him, he likes another girl.”

“Maybe he wouldn’t if you told him you liked him.” Barbie is unresponsive. Skipper continued reasoning, “He could like a thousand girls, but they’ll never have what you already have with Ken.”

Genuinely curious to know what her sister meant, Barbie asked, “And that is?”

“Eight years worth of friendship!”

Barbie toys with her bracelet and hesitantly changes her gaze to something other than Skipper’s face. She takes a view of the tree in her backyard where she and Ken secretly met at night when they were children. As much as Barbie would hate to admit it, Skipper was definitely right about her and Ken’s relationship—the friendship they have built over the past nine, and almost ten, years they spend together will never compare to any other friendship in their lives. And if Barbie were to be honest, butterflies definitely existed during certain points of spending time together with her best friend.

“Maybe you don’t know it yourself, but everyone else sees it.” Barbie turned back to Skipper who was speaking once more. “You two have a lot of feelings to talk about, but if one thing is for sure... It’s that... When it comes to you, Ken will always come through. After all, you’re his _only_ exception.”

“Skip–“

“Look, you don’t have to accept it now. But you have to know it,” Skipper tells her older sister off. “I’m gonna go upstairs now. Good night, sis.”

“Good night.”

Skipper climbed up the stairs to get to her and Stacie’s room. Barbie, on the other hand, remained downstairs for a while. She continued to look at the tree in her backyard and reminiscing childhood stories of when her family just got to Malibu. The Carsons were the first to be welcoming to the Roberts when they moved into the neighborhood. However, what Barbie will never forget from that day was the tall, blonde, blue-eyed, and charming eight-year-old boy who presented her a plant as a housewarming gift and came to be her best friend. Times and seasons may have changed, but their friendship remains. So even though a lot went on the past week, contributing to so much stress and confusion in Barbie’s life, there were faithful people beside her that made it easier. It’s difficult to know what’s to become of her and Ken’s close, and “more-than-friendship friendship”. Only time will tell. However, what matters is that in the end, they are each other’s constants—and nothing could ever change that.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that! And yes... I have a headcanon (because I’m not 100% sure if it’s confirmed) that the gold bracelet Barbie always wears is from Ken. I thought about it because of the first few seconds of the "Ken and Barbie Love the Ocean" vlog. https://youtu.be/enEt47tFpa4 video.


End file.
